International Fuel Cells, LLC

United Technologies Corporation

George T Suljak, Jr

Michael G McCaffrey

Donald F Szydlowski

Eric A Hudson

John R Farris

Ronald Cohen

Ole L Olesen

Robert J Misage

Edmund K Parenti, Jr

William E Romanowski

Joseph J Faitani

George W Austin, Jr

Terry J Chase

Joseph J Faintani

Gas turbine engine systems involving gear-driven variable vanes are provided. In this regard, a representative gas turbine engine system includes: a ring gear assembly operative to be mounted within an engine casing; and a vane module having a first vane airfoil and a first gear, the first gear being operative to engage the ring gear assembly such that movement of the ring gear alters a position of the first vane airfoil.

Gas turbine engine systems involving gear-driven variable vanes

A ring vane nozzle for a gas turbine engine according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes a multiple of fixed turbine vanes between an inner vane ring and an outer vane ring and a multiple of rotational turbine vanes between the inner vane ring and the outer vane ring, each of the rotational turbine vanes rotatable about an axis of rotation.

Variable area turbine vane arrangement

The thermal insulation blanket can be used to reduce heat loss from a device both in an ambient air environment, and in the vacuum environment of space. The blanket includes a plurality of goldized film layers with interleaved ceramic fiberglass cloth layers, which provide insulation against radiated heat loss in the space environment. Adjacent to the goldized layer is a felt or foam mat which provides insulation against conduction or convection heat loss in the ambient environment. The film and mat components are enclosed in a PTFE-coated fiber glass cloth envelope.

Thermal insulation blanket

The vessel is a fuel/steam reformer which has an annular chamber containing a catalyst bed. The annular chamber is surrounded by a heating zone and heat pipes from the heating zone extend through the interior of the catalyst bed whereby the catalyst is concurrently heated from inside and outside of the bed. A burner is positioned coaxially of the annular chamber to supply the required heat. Raw fuel is fed into a vaporizing chamber below the catalyst bed and after vaporization, rises through the catalyst bed for conversion to a hydrogen rich fuel gas. The fuel gas is collected in a chamber above the catalyst bed. The device is particularly useful for compact methanol fuel cell power plants.

Compact chemical reaction vessel

The reformer is designed for use with a large fuel cell power plant capable of producing megawatts of power, as, for example, would be used by a public utility. The catalyst tubes in the reformer have their upper ends at staggered elevations so as to be capable of having their temperatures individually monitored by infrared temperature sensors. The catalyst tubes are mounted on a floating support within the reformer housing so as to be free to undergo expansion and contraction during periods of internal temperature variation as the reformer is operated. The floating support is preferably formed from fuel manifolds suspended in the reformer housing. Baffles are included in the reformer housing for evenly distributing heat to the catalyst tube arrays. The reformer has a long burner tube which is approximately the same length as the catalyst tubes.

Fuel cell power plant reformer

A fuel cell power system for use in a weightless environment, such as in space, includes a device for removing water from a water-hydrogen mixture condensed from the exhaust from the fuel cell power section of the system. Water is removed from the mixture in a centrifugal separator, and is fed into a holding, pressure operated water discharge valve via a Pitot tube. Entrained nondissolved hydrogen is removed from the Pitot tube by a bleed orifice in the Pitot tube before the water reaches the water discharge valve. Water discharged from the valve thus has a substantially reduced hydrogen content.

Separation of gaseous hydrogen from a water-hydrogen mixture in a fuel

The device catalytically reforms a raw hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen rich gas for fueling a fuel cell stack. The device is compact so as to be usable in mobile or temporary applications, such as in vehicles, trailors, as an emergency generator or the like. The device has generally cylindrical housing with an axial burner and a helical catalyst tube outside of the burner and inside of the housing. A refractory heat shield sleeve is interposed between the burner and the helical tube so that heat from the burner progresses to one end of the housing and then passes between the heat shield and housing side wall to envelop the catalyst tube. A gas deflector and swirler may be disposed at the end of the heat shield to properly direct the hot gases from the burner to the catalyst tube. Raw fuel is percolated through the catalyst tube and converted therein to a hydrogen rich gaseous fuel.

Compact hydrogen generator

To more uniformly distribute heat to the plurality of catalyst tubes in a catalytic reaction furnace, the burner disposed in the furnace above the tops of the tubes includes concentric primary and secondary annular fuel and air outlets. The fuel-air mixture from the primary outlet is directed towards the tubes adjacent the furnace wall, and the burning secondary fuel-air mixture is directed horizontally from the secondary outlet and a portion thereof is deflected downwardly by a slotted baffle toward the tubes in the center of the furnace while the remaining portion passes through the slotted baffle to another baffle disposed radially outwardly therefrom which deflects it downwardly in the vicinity of the tubes between those in the center and those near the wall of the furnace.

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Vernon, CT, United States of America

George T Suljak, Jr